


Wand of the Lake

by PerpetuallyHaunted



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Animagus, Animagus Penny Haywood, Bodyswap, Espionage, F/F, F/M, Hogwarts Third Year, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Multi, Penny Haywood is Leda Du Lac, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Resurrection, Secret Identity, Time Travel, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Werewolf Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerpetuallyHaunted/pseuds/PerpetuallyHaunted
Summary: None of this was part of the plan. She was supposed to come back to the past and prepare for the future, not this. Of course, things could never be that simple; it was just Penny's luck to be missing gaps of memories, find herself in the middle of a conspiracy, and lose the one item she was supposed to guard with her life. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of problems. Penny really wished she would have argued and let Hermione go back instead.
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Penny Haywood & Pandora Westermont, Penny Haywood & Remus Lupin, Penny Haywood & Sirius Black, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter





	Wand of the Lake

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own anything.

**October 15th, 2002 | Tuesday:**

It started with a pop, like a car backfiring in the dead of night. Three people apparated into a small cabin in the middle of nowhere United States and one of them was Penny Haywood. She felt like she was floating as she blindly felt out for the chair she knew was beside her. When she found it, she sat down and just stared at the nearest wall. Blood was splattered across her face and it didn't belong to her.

"Penny!" Charlie's voice called from what sounded like meters away. Penny vaguely made out his marred, freckled face as he leaned down to her height trying to meet her eyes. A little voice in the back of her head whispered about how thankful she was that Charlie was still struggling to adjust to having sight in one eye because otherwise, he would have come with them. She wouldn't know where she would have been if he had died as well.

Charlie's voice shook her out of the depth of her mind as he turned and demanded, "What happened?!" at the other two that had come back with her.

"Ben and Tulip-," Hermione started in a hushed voice that died off quickly. Ben and Tulip were gone, not the first to die and they wouldn't be the last. Like many others, they hadn't gone peacefully and Penny had the unfortunate luck to witness it. She thought nothing could faze her anymore after Beatrice died in her arms, but seeing Sectumsempra and the Entrail-Spilling curses at work on two of her friends broke something inside her Penny thought was already broken. Hermione had seen it too, but somehow she found the strength Penny couldn't muster to at least attempt to explain.

When it became clear Hermione wasn't going to pick up that sentence and continue, Jacob's calm voice cut in, "We got it." They did get it, but at the cost of Voldemort's followers killing more of their friends. Penny couldn't help but wonder at what cost. The wand belonged to the most powerful witch in history to be overlooked, but they didn't know if it could really hold up to the power of the Elder Wand.

The half-breed witch had allegedly sealed away Merlin, the most powerful wizard in history, away for the rest of eternity. She had done such a great job no one has been able to locate Merlin's body to this day. All they could do was hope the Lady of the Lake's wand held the power to give them the boost they need to fight Voldemort. It was that optimism that kept them going. Charlie clung to that hope more than anyone and he immediately went into a spill, "We can't let their sacrifice go to waste. We now just need the right opportunity to practice with it and plan to get to the last two Horcruxes and-."

"Charlie, stop," Hermione quietly interjected and Charlie's voice died in this throat, along with the manic smile on his lips, before Hermione delivered a devasting blow, "That's not the real plan."

The silence was defending before Charlie finely asked, "What?" and Hermione winced at the question as Penny felt her stomach drop.

"Hermione," Jacob tried to object to keep whatever he and Hermione were keeping from them from being brought to light. Penny watched as Charlie's faux enthusiasm and misplaced hope of avenging his family die before her eyes.

Anger replaced it quickly and the last Weasley demanded, "What did you keep from us?"

Jacob and Hermione looked at each other having a silent argument before Hermione looked back at them and admitted, "Charlie...Penny...Nimue's wand is the key to beating Voldemort, but-but it won't work for any of us. Cerys Foel's journal was very clear that the wand would only work for someone who was descended to the Du Lac bloodline...The last Du Lac died in 1973."

Charlie let out a laugh of disbelief and he ran both his hands through his hair as he muttered, "I can't believe this," to himself on repeat.

As for Penny she finally snapped out of her stupor and louder than she meant to be demanded, "Then why?! Why did the Circle die for a wand that doesn't work?!"

"We needed an item that the last Du Lac died with, something closely tied to her family and blood, for a spell," Jacob explained avoiding eye contact with Penny at the mention of the group his sister started.

Charlie looked back up at them his hands pressed together in front of his face in frustration as he pressed, "What kind of spell?"

Another pause of silence followed this question before Charlie lost patience and exploded, "What kind of spell, Hermione?!"

"Time travel!" Hermione snapped out in panic only to immediately flinch and whisper in afterthought, "At least I think it is."

A few beats of the old clock on the kitchen wall ticked by before Charlie repeated quietly to himself, "At least you think it is?" in disbelief then grew serious once more, "And what does this maybe time travel spell work exactly? What is the person going back supposed to do?"

Hermione took a deep breath before she confessed, sounding a bit more confident to be brought back to her element, "The spell supposedly sends a person's soul or a duplicate of the person's soul and consciousness back in time to inhabit and resurrect the body of a person that recently died. I don't know if it's really time travel or it creates an alternate timeline off the original course of history. The latter would explain how one's consciousness can go back in time and remain there while their original self exists. Then again it could also be possible by duplicating the soul and consciousness or even disconnecting the time travel's soul and consciousness from time itself-"

"Hermione," Jacob interrupted when the brunette began to get off-topic.

The former Gryffindor's nervous ramble stopped abruptly before she recollected herself and continued, refocused on the original questions, "The spell requires an object that person you'd be replacing in time died with or was closely tied to their family, and Nimue's wand covers both. Jacob and I confirmed through research that Leda Du Lac died with the wand in her possession...After replacing Leda, the plan would be to let the timeline go as usual until Harry defeats Voldemort on Halloween of 1981 or even until he starts Hogwarts. Afterward, it'd be a matter of hunting Horcuxes."

Penny stared in disbelief as she heard this, they didn't even know if this spell would work and they made an entire plan for if it did. "And who exactly were you planning to send back in time for this plan?" Charlie questioned as he looked between the two masterminds behind this insanity.

Jacob took a small breath before he admitted, "Hermione. She's the brightest Witch in a long time. She can do this better than anyone."

"No," Charlie immediately disagree and Penny couldn't help, but agree the plan was ludicrous before he continued, "Send Penny instead."

Her brain ceased to function for a moment after hearing this and when regained herself she objected, "What? No! Charlie, this is stupid! This is far more reckless than anything that we've done! We can't do this!"

"If we don't do this, everyone's sacrifices to obtain that wand will be for nothing," Charlie countered before he turned to scowl at Jacob and Hermione, "They made sure of that." Penny's protest died in her throat. She was at a loss for words and the worst part was, he was correct. If they didn't attempt this crazy plan all their friends would have died for nothing.

Bitterly accepting this, Penny asked, "Why me?"

"Because you're just as bright as Hermione, Penny. Also, you don't have the attachments she does to those who were in the center of this war," Charlie informed her and paused for a moment before he confessed, "And-And at this moment, you are the only person left in this world I trust. I trust that anyone can do this and succeed, it'd be you." At this Penny had to sit back down. She couldn't say no. She had no choice, but to accept; if not for her, then for her little sister and all her friends in the Circle.

So, after a moment to collect herself, she agreed to this insanity, "Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued:


End file.
